


We Can Be Heroes Everywhere We Go

by benjaminrussell



Series: The Unbreakable Rearguard [1]
Category: Dungeons & Dragons - All Media Types
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-18
Updated: 2020-07-18
Packaged: 2021-03-04 21:33:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,605
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25363168
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/benjaminrussell/pseuds/benjaminrussell
Summary: Local barbarian kills slaver and frees slave.
Relationships: Malika al-Ayad/Daiyu
Series: The Unbreakable Rearguard [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1836685
Comments: 2
Kudos: 1





	We Can Be Heroes Everywhere We Go

The Unbreakable Rearguard were sat in yet another nondescript tavern, ostensibly just there to enjoy a night out in between jobs, but in actual fact they were working, keeping a careful eye out for the man they’d been tracking. An integral point in the network between the Ha’Sharic slavers and the local Magisterium, the party knew that they’d need to take him out in order to disrupt the blood magic ritual that would otherwise destroy the city.

They’d been there an hour or so when Malika suddenly straightened up from where she’d been lounging against the wall behind her. She dropped her feet from the bench to the floor as, in a tone that left no room for argument, she said, “Leave it to me. I recognise this-” The rest of the party didn’t understand the string of Ha’Sharic that followed, but they didn’t need to in order to tell it was clearly an unpleasant insult. Malika slipped past Vinric and dove into the crowd before anyone could do anything to stop her.

“For fuck’s sake,” Este swore at the same time as Vinric started singing a quiet song about Malika beating up unsuspecting slavers.

“Should we go after her?” Reginald asked, although he made no move to actually do so. Uther shook his head and shifted his chair slightly, so he had an unobstructed view of their wayward barbarian. “She’ll let us know if she needs help.”

On the other side of the room, Malika reached her target. This close, she could see the young elven woman stood off to one side of Aamir Tahan, the man she’d spotted who was now seated at the bar. A quick once over made Malika think that the woman was an assistant rather than a bodyguard, but regardless she was almost certainly a slave. Malika had lived in that world for almost fifteen years; she knew what signs to look for. The only question was, would the woman come to the aid of her master or not? All that went through Malika’s mind in the few moments as she stepped up behind the slaver and pressed the tip of the jewelled dagger she’d picked up early in their adventures against his back, the weapon hidden from view by their bodies and her loose coat. He tensed up and his hand twitched towards the sword at his hip, but Malika hissed, “Don’t move or I’ll gut you.”

Before he could get any ideas, she continued, “Do you recognise me? You can look.” She shifted to the side a little, without letting up the pressure with her dagger, so he could get a good look at her and watched the confusion and then recognition flit across his face as he placed her.

“Malika the Merciless,” He breathed, suddenly looking a lot more wary of the blade at his back. Malika forced down the rage that threatened to take over at the mention of her old moniker, reminding herself that they needed information from him before she could kill him. Also murdering someone in the middle of a busy tavern wouldn’t end well, but that was barely a concern for her at that moment.

“If I bring you back to Arkus, I’ll be well rewarded.”

Malika pressed the dagger harder, although still not enough to draw blood, and gave a low laugh right in his ear. He was clearly aware of her reputation but thinking he could profit from dragging her back to her former masters would only make him reckless and she couldn’t have that. Time to improvise.

“I didn’t escape during the riots,” She lied, still keeping her voice low enough that only Tahan would hear her. “I helped protect Her Eminence and was made His Eminence’s personal assassin in return. I’m no longer just another Aljaraad[1].” She paused, letting the information sink in, before continuing. “House Amini has heard all about your little side business…”

The party might not know the full details of the ‘off the books’ deal Tahan had arranged, but Malika knew enough people like him and was sure that the full profit would be going into his pockets, rather than a percentage paying the Amini family’s taxes. And everyone in Arkus knew what happened when you crossed them. Tahan clearly bought Malika’s deception, from the sheer terror written in every line of his body and the barely audible cursing. She let him stew for a few moments before throwing him a perceived lifeline. “Luckily for you, His Eminence wants information more than your death, so you’ve got a chance to make up for your betrayal.”

“It was a momentary weakness. I swear I won’t do it again. I’ll tell you everything His Eminence wants to know,” He replied, talking so fast he could barely get the words out.

“Daniyah, answer her questions,” He ordered, acknowledging his slave for the first time since entering the tavern. Malika doubted that really was the woman’s name, given her apparent Yasunan heritage, but it wasn’t uncommon for slaves be renamed by their owners for a variety of reasons. She’d ask after she’d dealt with Tahan if she had a chance.

“Let’s go outside where we can continue this conversation in private.” Malika gave the slaver enough room to stand up, relying on his fear to keep him from trying anything. Even if he did, she’d enjoy chasing him down. She made him walk in front of her, ‘Daniyah’ automatically following. Behind Tahan’s back, Malika raised her free hand and made a gesture she hoped conveyed wings in the direction of the rest of the party, trusting that at least one of them would understand her meaning. A group of adventurers following them out would break her cover, but a hawk would go ignored. The presence of Reginald’s familiar would allow the wizard to hear all the information Malika got from the slaver, and also meant the party would know immediately if she needed help.

Once outside in the back alley where they were unlikely to be interrupted, the interrogation went remarkably quickly, as if Tahan thought that the faster he talked, the faster he’d be out of danger. He told her every detail of his operation, even ones she didn’t care about, occasionally supplemented by ‘Daniyah’ relaying figures or other details that it was her job to keep track of. When Malika was satisfied that she had every piece of information that could potentially be helpful, she pulled her fist back and punched him in the face, causing his head to slam back against the tavern wall. Out like a light, he slumped to the floor and finally allowed Malika to turn her attention to the other woman. She sheathed her dagger and held her hands up placatingly.

“I’m not going to hurt you, I promise.” Taking a step backwards to give ‘Daniyah’ some space, she continued, “I’m not really an Amini slave, not anymore. I escaped and now I’m part of an adventuring party trying to take down this piece of shit and his clients. My name is Malika though. I’m guessing yours isn’t really Daniyah?”

“No, it’s Daiyu,” the other woman replied, looking much livelier and more curious now she didn’t have to worry about her now-former master. “What are you going to do with me?”

“We can help you get somewhere they won’t find you, but otherwise, nothing. You’re free to do as you please.” Malika glanced up to the roof and spotted the familiar hawk perched on the edge of the thatching watching them, so she raised her voice slightly and told it, “You can all come out now.”

“My friends won’t hurt you either,” She reassured Daiyu before they came traipsing out of the tavern.

“Thank you.” Daiyu pulled out a leather-bound book from her satchel and offered it to Malika.

“This is Aamir’s ledger. Hopefully, it will go a little way towards repaying you for freeing me.”

“You don’t owe me anything,” Malika said firmly, “But if you do want to do something, if you feel you have to, then if you’re ever in a situation where you can help someone else, do it.”

“I will,” Daiyu promised, just as the rest of the party rounded the corner.

“This is Daiyu,” Malika told them as they drew close. “She was his-” She punctuated her words with a kick to Tahan’s side. “-unwilling assistant and has been very helpful.”

“Daiyu, this is Uther, Este, Reginald, and Vinric.” She gestured at each of them in turn, before adding, “Reginald would love to look at that ledger if you don’t mind.”

“Keep it,” Daiyu said fervently as she handed it over. “I want nothing to do with him or his things.”

They left Tahan dead in the alley and Daiyu alive and well in the next city they passed through, with the contents of Tahan’s purse to get her by, not expecting to see her again. However, the next time they visited, several adventures and many months later, they heard whispers of an organisation helping escaped slaves and other victims of abuse. When their job led them to the leader of said organisation, they were all surprised to see Daiyu, looking a lot happier and more confident than when they’d left her.

“When I told you to help someone if you had the chance, this wasn’t what I had in mind,” Malika commented later that night.

“Maybe not, but go big or go home, right?” Daiyu replied, an impish grin on her face. The kiss Malika gave her in response made it clear how just much she approved.

[1] Gladiator and glorified executioner


End file.
